Something Strange Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. These are the opening sentences of the non-scriptural reading in today’s Office of Readings. Tradition calims St. Melito of Sardis as the author, but we don't know … Continue reading Something Strange is Happening: Holy Saturday
Is it I, Lord? – Good Friday
When Jesus says to them, “You will all fall away” (Matthew 26:31), he’s not speaking only to his Apostles, but to all of us who have been his disciples in the millennia since, as well as all those in the years to come.
Christ Came to Serve: Holy Thursday
I often find it easy to identify with Peter and the other Apostles. That is, when they are slow to catch on to what their Master is saying.
The Inner Struggle: Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday
We gain something, however, from seeing the joyful palm-waving crowd welcoming Jesus and the angry crowd demanding his death in the same liturgy. We see a reflection in today's mass of the struggle within each of us between the desire for salvation and the allure of sin.
The Stench of Death: 5th Sunday of Lent
The Stench of Death The Stench of Death pervades the liturgy on this 5th Sunday of Lent. And not just figuratively. Consider today's Gospel. Jesus approaches the tomb of his friend Lazarus, who had been buried four days earlier. When Jesus instructs those present to move away the stone sealing the tomb, Lazarus' sister Martha … Continue reading The Stench of Death: 5th Sunday of Lent
Laetare, Jerusalem: 4th Sunday of Lent
Laetare Sunday represents more than a break midway through Lent. It's a demarcation, showing us that something is changing. It's a last breath of fresh air and a final glimpse of sunlight before plunging into the depths of Passiontide. We have a reminder of God's promise as we walk with Jesus on the Way of the Cross.
Let’s Keep the Confessional Open
God could simply forgive any and all sins any time we ask for it in prayer, but instead he tells us through his Holy Scripture: "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed." (James 5:16) There is a reason that the Word chose to become Flesh.
What’s Up With Chocolate and Lent?
The last thing we need is conflicting messages, don't you think? Especially when it concerns the State of our Souls. Imagine my dismay, then, when I came across two different signs at two different churches telling me to do opposite things to observe Lent. . . . one tells me to give up chocolate, the other says the opposite. Well now, should I or shouldn't I?
Well and Rock: 3rd Sunday of Lent
Allegorically, as St. Paul tells us, the Rock represents Jesus. Jesus himself tells us in the passage from John that the "water" he provides is, in fact, eternal life. The moral meaning of the Moses story is that, even when things look hopeless, God will provide. Anagogically, that only Jesus can provide true life, eternal life.
Anti-Hypocrite and Martyr: St. Philemon the Actor
In the ancient world actors such as Philemon used to wear masks . . . but the Lord can see through any act: there are no masks before the throne of God.